Page 64 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

Leveraging Technology for Teacher Efficiency and Effectivenes • CHAPTER 11

Pinterest has a special section just for educators called Teachers on Pinterest
(pinterest.com/teachers). If you want ideas for using Pinterest well, look at The
Guide to Pinterest for Educators (rossieronline.usc.edu/pinterest-for-educators)
written by author Leah Anne Levy.

If you are using Twitter and want to follow specific Twitter chats, consider using
tchat (tchat.io), a tool for filtering out just the chat you want to follow. Read a
review of the site on TeachersFirst (teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=17107) to get
ideas for how to use it effectively.
Fakebook (classtools.net/FB/home-page) is a protected way to provide a simu-
lated Facebook environment for students (with parental permission). This would
be a way to let students share their work with parents in an unusual format.
TeachersFirst’s review (teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=14197) of Fakebook high-
lights ideas to get you started.

Learning Management Systems

Learning management systems enable teachers to create classroom accounts,
upload student accounts, and have one online place where students interact with
one another, work collaboratively, take assessments, turn in assignments, and
generally track their school lives. Rather than hosting a blog on one website, a wiki
on another, and a discussion board on a third, many K–12 teachers have migrated
to platforms where they can do it all in one space. This increases teacher and
student efficiency.
Several K–12 learning management systems provide free teacher accounts or
low-cost district or school accounts.

G Suite for Education (edu.google.com) has infiltrated many K–12 districts across
the United States, particularly when schools have adopted Chromebooks as
student devices. Google Classroom enables teachers to create classes, distribute
assignments, provide feedback, and promote collaboration. Many digital tools
being created online intentionally integrate with G Suite.

Edmodo (edmodo.com) has gained popularity among teachers, not only for the
look and feel of social media, but also for the professional library and community
it provides. Teachers can draw from a library of lessons and resources created by

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